Chinese President Xi Jinping said here on Friday that Beijing welcomed Pakistan's upcoming entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Xi made the remarks in a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif prior to the 15th SCO summit, which is set to start procedures for granting India and Pakistan full membership, Xinhua news agency reported.
"China is willing to maintain close cooperation with Pakistan within the SCO framework," said the Chinese president.
Founded in 2001, the SCO has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its full members.
Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are observers while Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners.
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